Handel - English Arias

George Frideric Handel (1685-1751)
1.- Yet can I hear that dulcet lay (The choice of Hercules)
2.- How can I stay, when love invites (Esther)
3.- O fairest of ten thousand fair (Saul)
4.- Great God! who, yet but darkly known (Belshazzar)
5.- The raptur'd soul (Theodora)
6.- Father of Heav'n (Judas Maccabaeus)
7.- Overture to Esther
8.- O lord, whose mercies numberless (Saul)
9.- What though I trace each herb (Solomon)
10.- Martial Symphony and Destructive war (Belshazzar)
11.- Welcome as the dawn of day (Solomon)
12.- Kind Heaven, if virtue be thy care (Theodora)
13.- Almighty pow'r (Solomon)
14.- Tune your harps (Haman and Mordecai)

James Bowman - Countertenor
Susan Gritton - Soprano

The King's Consort - Robert King

Enjoy :)

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Historic Organs from 5 Centuries

Im really delighted upon posting this cd interpreted by Albert Bolliger. A man deeply fascinated by the world of organs, whose long career has given fruits all along his life and the places he is being at. 

The series "Historic Organs" unveils his true art, the ties his mind has with the organ, making up an extraordinary interpretation in all the different organs he has played, just briefed in the present disk. Just as example is the so tender interpretation of the BWV 754  "Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier" which has no paragon and that I love.

Enjoy :)

Part1   Part2

The Organ (The Instruments of Classical Music)

Everyone is acquainted with its imposing external form in the interior of churches. But is more difficult to define the instrument. What about this definition?: "The organ is a stationary instrument which is played with hands and feet on one or more keyboards, and in which the sound is produced by pipes (flue or reed pipes) arranged in ranks (voices or registers), which can be switched on individually by the player at will, placed over an apparatus for distributing wind (wind chest), this wind being provided by a special machine (bellows or blower)". After its "invention" by the Greek engineer Ktesibios (around 250 BC), the organ became established in the Hellenic and Roman Empires and, from there, throughout the whole of Europe. The decadent emperor Nero (54-68 AD) used it as plaything, and it was regarded as a symbol of entertainment and as the worldly showpiece of princes' courts until the early 14th century. It was only in the 15th century that this instrument, which had previously been condemned by the high dignitaries of the Church, started to be used for sacred functions as a kind of "machine for accompanying the choir" and took over the rule of the cult and church instrument par excellence.  Different methods of construction and sound ideas developed in the various countries and regions, stemming mostly from the fancies of some prominent organ builder and his successors. With a zeal of almost Olympic proportions organs were constructed which were "bigger and bigger", "more and more beautiful", "more and more sonorous", in some of which it was impossible to use all the registers. In the largest church organ in the world, the five-part organ in Passau Cathedral, the organist could theoretically play on 231 registers with exactly 17,388 pipes, the biggest of which is more than 11 meters long and 47 centimeters in diameter, and the smallest only 6 millimeters long.             U.K.

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Oboe Concertos and Sonatas - Handel

Here is all Handel’s music for solo oboe – three concertos, four sonatas, and one recently discovered in-between piece scored for oboe, two violins and continuo. Handel writes for the instrument sympathetically, especially in the slow movements. Sarah Francis has an appealing way with these, though her tone can tend towards the fulsome. If the music is sometimes undercharacterised, the ensemble’s playing is nevertheless neat. Forward sound.                                   George Hall 

Enjoy :)

Option1

Venus and Adonis - Handel

Very enchanting interpretations of the Handel's sonatas op. 2 HWV 388, 390a, 392 and 393; the cantata "Mi palpita il cor" HWV 132b and the air "Meine seele Hort im Sehen" HWV 207; whose softness and clarity give a parallel view alike from other recordings.

Special mention must be done to the first world recording "Venus and Adonis" and the great work that sure it was its reconstruction carried out by Luca Guglielmi. Although the voice part was extent, wasn't the most part of the instrumental passages and likewise were the recitatives, but at the end his work resulted exceptional

"Thanks to the original releaser"

Enjoy  :)

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Bach Greatest Hits, Baroque Masterpieces

I think that since the beginning of this blog, I've posted works for deep connoiseurs of the baroque, works that are not always easy to digest, so, I felt like an impel to prsent some music for amateurs baroque listeners. 

The firs cd compiles some of the most famous Bach's melodies. Without going so far, it presents them in a very pleasant way to be listened, starting from two allegros of his famous concertos of Brandenburg No 2 and 3, passing through some symphonies  and the orchestral version of the so dazing "Jesu, joy of man's desiring". The other works, the selection of the main movements of the Bach's orchestral suites No 1 and 2 (BWV 1066 and 1067 respectively), and  the violin concerto BWV 1043 are being performed with mastery and profundity, caring for the subtles parts, which in baroque can mean everything.

Enjoy the baroque!  :)

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The second cd (Baroque Masterpieces) is alike an anthology of the most excelent compositions of late baroque. Here, not all works are recueable, due to exist nowadays much better interpretations, and plus, interpreted on period instruments. But leaving aside the instrumentation issue, and if we focuse on the musicality, we'll be able to apreciate this works as landmarks of the baroque interpretations. Just to point out the works that I believe are rescuable, are: Albinoni's adagio, Bach's Oboe concerto (Do not remmember the number of the cathalog BWV), and the Corelli's concerto for grosso in G minor Op 6 for Christamas. Im sure that the other pieces will like you, I was just remarking thoso that I believe are better interpreted in comparision with much moder ones.

Enjoy the baroque!  :)

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Messiah - Handel (1751 version)

The Messiah of Handel is an emblematic work that depicts the kind of oratorio that Handel established in England,  unlike the others, this one do not have a dramatic topic (where by dramatic I mean an story interpreted by singers as biblical or mythological characters), instead, it is just made of a series of texts that recall meditation.

 As hard as it may seem, this oratorio was not intended to be for sacred purposes. It was mainly performed in theaters, and plus, the music does not have much to do with sacred woks of that time. We must notice that Handels oratorios until then, were opera-like works, in which the only part lacking was, the histrionic one.

This version of the Messiah dates from a series of performances in April and May 1751 in London. The features are: 1) The new settings of the arias "But who may abide" and "Thou art gone up on high" sung bay a male alto. 2) The addition of white voices in substitution for the sopranos. 3) The switched in singers to sing the aria " Rejoice, greatly", instead of soprano, a bass, and in the aria "Why do the nations" is sung by a tenor instead of a bass.

Enjoy!

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Part2            Part2
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Il Primo Uomo - Arias for Nicolini

Nicolini (Nicola Grimaldo (1673-1732)) was the first castrato in his time, he increased the popularity of Italian opera in England. The very Handel was astonished by Nicolini's voice, that he composed arias specifically for him. The same did others composers of first hand, such as  Alessandro Scarlatti, Caldara, Leo, etc.

All the time he performed, he raised the public entusiam not only for his singing, but because of his portent and good looking, and excepcional aptitutes to act. In few words, he was a super star in the very late XVII century and the beggining of the XVIII.

Enjoy!

Flac     Mp3

Ombra mai fu - Haendel - (Andreas Scholl)

Handel was basically was a composer of dramatic music, in which opera was the most developed and required more attention. Some arias between his operas became relevant and his operas very famous, but certainly the aria "Ombra mai fu" of his opera Xerses is the most known of all. Andreas Scholl interprets it with great mastery and delicateness, thanks to his well educated alto voice.

Enjoy!

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Alexander's Feast or The Power of Musick - Handel

Alexander's Feast was completed in January 1736, and was intended to celebrate Saint Cecilia's day. It's a dramatic set in which Alexander the Great, in a night of drunkenness is induced by his mistress Thais to set fire to the Persian city Persepolis. The drama is accompanied by the music arousements on Alexander moods of Timotheus playing the lire and the flute, culminating in an apotheosis to "divine Cecilia", the patron of music.

Enjoy!

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"Thanks to the original releaser"

Music for the Royal Fireworks, Concerto a due cori, other works - Handel

Which are the most known works of an x composer? If one asks to a not very versed people in classical music that questions, sure in a certain way it'll depict how famous is and was that x composer. In the case of Handel, the answer will be his three more interpreted works: Water music, music for the royal fireworks and his Messiah. No doubt just few people will be able to answer, and the answers will fir just to few composers.

Handel also likes to recycle music ideas, as he took the main ideas of previous works to make up  a new work, that's the case with his concerti a due cori, where he took parts mainly from his oratorios to construct these orchestral pieces. Of course he did that to other works, like in his cantatas. 

Enjoy!!!

EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 208 MB | Scans

MP3 320 Kbps | 109 MB | Scans

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Apollo e Dafne - Handel

Apollo e Dafne is one of the first vocal music attempts by Haendel. It started it about 1709, and completed it in 1710. In this cantata is noticeable the brightness that will appear in his later operatic works. 

Tle plot is about the arrogance of Apollo and his love to Dafne. When Apollo confessed his love to her, she rejected him, arguing that better death than lose her honour, leadind to being grabbed by Apollo. At the end when all seemed lost, she manages to scape becoming a laurel, whose branches will crown the greates heroes.

Enjoy!!!

EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 306 MB | Scans

MP3 320 Kbps | 138 MB | Scans

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Water Music - Handel, Two violin concertos - Bach

Just to get you in, it's a cd comprising the Handel's water music first suite and Bach's two violin concertos BWV 1041 and 1043. Treasures of the baroque executed by the potsdam baroque orchestra. Really worth to listen it, because its  profundity, measurable execution and the clearance of the performers.

Handel's water music was composed to an open aire performance at the Thames river by a request of King George I in 17 July 1717. 

Enjoy and subscribe :) !

EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 267 MB | Scans

MP3 320 Kbps | 135 MB | Scans

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A Baroque Feast - Tafelmusik

With whatever kind of music, there is always a basic repertory, without which, one can't say that is fan of that or whichever music, even though, it's much more remarcable in the so called "classical music" (that in this case is baroque one). Whoever  that is more than 20 and has lived in a city, at least once, I think, have listenned Vivaldi's four seasons, or Handel's fireworks' festival, or one or two Brandenburg concertos of Bach.

The repertory here presented is one of those that mustn't be missed. Who in his five senses would like to miss Handel's the arrival of Queen of Sheba, or the opening of the suite Abdelazar of Purcell, or Marcello's most famous oboe concerto in D, etc.

Enjoy!!!  Subscribe and leave your commentaries, all they are welcome.

EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 390 MB | Scans

MP3 320 Kbps | 202 MB | Scans

  

 

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Le Temps Des Castrats

Continuing with the great ara of the castrati in the age of enlightenment I share this cd even though some arias dont sound very good because the recordings are old, but talking about countertenors one doesnt miss Alfre Deller or James Bowman.

EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 310 MB | Scans

MP3 320 Kbps | 168 MB | Scans

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Jaroussky - Carestini (The Story of a Castrato)

Many of the castrato arias with we have pleasure nowadays, were written in fact spatially for those super stars at that time. This cd contains one pasticcio of arias composed for Carestini (Farinelli's main rival) by the some of the most renown composers of that time. The era of the castrati have finished and no one really know how it was the voice of such singers even though exist  a recording dated from 1902 of Alessandro Moreschi the last castrato, but I cant rely on the quality of the registration because sounds like a rat crying, so, better enjoy the natural countertenors and thrust in their approach to a real castrato voice.

EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 324 MB | Scans

MP3 320 Kbps | 162 MB | Scans

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The art of the oboe

Anthony Camden here does an stunning play of some of the greatness oboe masterpieces ever composed. Pay spetial attention to the Albinoni's concerto in D minor No 2, maybe the most beatiful oboe concerto of all.

Enjoy!

EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 303 MB | Scans

MP3 320 Kbps | 154 MB | Scans

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